


To the Victors Go

by iceshade



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Annie is Not Okay, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Collection: Purimgifts Day 1, Community: purimgifts, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, I Tried, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:48:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23021224
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iceshade/pseuds/iceshade
Summary: Annie is still processing the events of her Games.
Relationships: Annie Cresta & Finnick Odair
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10
Collections: Purimgifts 2020





	To the Victors Go

**Author's Note:**

  * For [batyatoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/batyatoon/gifts).



> Shoal is what I headcanon as the boy tribute from District 4's name

No one could have expected her to win. Not her family, not her classmates, not her mentors. Hoped, maybe. But truly, honestly expected? No. Definitely not Finnick. Annie assumed that was part of the reason he’d been so cold to her before the Games started. There was only so many times a mentor could connect with their district tributes knowing they would most likely see them die bloody in an arena in the coming weeks. And Finnick wasn’t much older than her, having been the youngest winner ever. Closer to Shoal’s age than hers.

Shoal. Her partner.

There was so much blood.

Enough to flood the arena.

She had to stay afloat. Keep her head up. Unlike Shale.

He had no head.

His head was gone.

All that blood.

“Cresta?”

Choking her.

“Cresta!”

She was in the arena again and she was drowning and she couldn’t breathe—

“Annie!”

A set of hands grabbing her shoulders shocked her enough into taking a startled gasp of air, cutting off her mental panic. She zeroed in on the person holding her: it was Finnick. He was very close. When did Finnick get here? Come to think of it...

Where was here?

“Annie, are you back with us?”

“I– I don’t know,” she said haltingly as she tried to take in her surroundings, “am I supposed to be?”

Finnick leaned back with a sigh, removing his hands from her arms. (Annie found that unfortunate; his hands were warm and familiarly calloused.)

“The games are over, Annie. You’re out. You’ve won.”

Okay. Facts. Facts she could process. Facts were better than memories which were full of death and screams and—

“Hey.”

A touch. On her hand, grounding her in the present. She grabbed on to it, literally-her hands clutching his-as he spoke soft words to her. Words of comfort that went in one ear and out the other but still acted as a balm to gray matter in between on their way.

It occurred to her that she’d never gotten the chance to grieve for everything she’d lost over these past weeks. She couldn’t afford to show weakness in the arena, and since being picked up in the hovercraft time had acted like a fish. Slipping through her fingers at random moments. Annie couldn’t have told you how long it had been since she arrived in the Capitol the first time. Arrived with 11 others that would only be returning home in pine boxes.

She let the tears come.


End file.
